FLYX US Equity☆

flyx-20231231

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UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023

OR

For the transition period from ____ to ____

Commission file number 001-40444

flyExclusive, Inc.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

(Address of Principal Executive Offices) (Zip Code)

(252) 208-7715

(Registrant's telephone number, including area code)

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Title of each class TradingSymbol(s) Name of each exchangeon which registered

Class A Common Stock FLYX NYSE American LLC

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.

Yes oNox

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act.

Yes oNox

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant: (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports); and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yesx No o

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files).

Yesx No o

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and "emerging growth company" in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):

Large accelerated filer o Accelerated filer o

Non-accelerated filer x Smaller reporting company x

Emerging growth company x

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. o

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☐

If securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant included in the filing reflect the correction of an error to previously issued financial statements. o

Indicate by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that required a recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation received by any of the registrant’s executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to §240.10D-1(b). o

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act). Yes oNox

The aggregate market value of voting and non-voting common equity held by non-affiliates of the Registrant on June 30, 2023, based on the average bid and asked price of $10.25 for shares of the Registrant’s Class A common stock as reported by the NYSE American, was approximately $43.4 million. Shares of voting and non-voting common stock beneficially owned by each executive officer, director, and holder of more than 10% of our common stock have been excluded in that such persons may be deemed to be affiliates. This determination of affiliate status is not necessarily a conclusive determination for other purposes.

The Registrant had outstanding 17,892,021 shares of Class A Common Shares, par value $0.0001 per share, and 59,930,000 shares of Class B Common Shares, par value $0.0001 per share as of March 31, 2024

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

None.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

PART I 4

Item 1. Business 4

Item 1A. Risk Factors 11

Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments 33

Item 1C. Cybersecurity 33

Item 2. Properties 35

Item 3. Legal Proceedings 35

Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures 35

Item 6. [Reserved] 37

Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk 55

Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data 57

Item 9A. Controls and Procedures 105

Item 9B. Other Information 107

Item 9C. Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections 107

Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance 108

Item 11. Executive Compensation 111

Item 14. Principal Accountant Fees and Services 122

Item 15. Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules 124

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NOTES

Unless the context otherwise requires, all references to “flyExclusive,” the “Company,” “PubCo,” “we,” “us” and “our” in this Annual Report on Form 10-K (this “Report”) refer to flyExclusive, Inc., and where appropriate, its consolidated subsidiaries, Exclusive Jets, LLC, Jetstream Aviation, LLC and LGM Enterprises, LLC.

All trade names, trademarks and service marks appearing in this Report are the property of their respective owners. We have assumed that the reader understands that all such terms are source-indicating. Accordingly, such terms, when first mentioned in this Report, appear with the trade name, trademark or service mark notice and then throughout the remainder of this report without trade name, trademark or service mark notices for convenience only and should not be construed as being used in a descriptive or generic sense.

CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This Annual Report on Form 10-K contains “forward-looking statements.” When contained in this Report, the words “believe,” “project,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “intend,” “strategy,” “future,” “opportunity,” “plan,” “may,” “should,” “will,” “would,” “will be,” “will continue,” “will likely result,” and similar expressions and variations of these words or similar expressions (or the negative versions of such words or expressions) are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, conditions or results, and involve a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other important factors, many of which are outside our management’s control,that could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on information available as of the date and current expectations, forecasts and assumptions, and involve a number of judgments, risks anduncertainties. Accordingly, forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing our views as of any subsequent date, and we do not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date they were made, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities laws.

Therefore, actual outcomes and results may, and are likely to, differ materially from what is expressed or forecasted in the forward-looking statements due to numerous factors discussed from time to time in this Report, including the risks described under Item 1A - “Risk Factors,” and Item 7 - “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” of this Report and in other documents which we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). In addition, such statements could be affected by risks and uncertainties related to:

•the ability to implement business plans, forecasts, and other expectations and identify and realize additional opportunities;

•our results of operations and financial condition;

•risks that the Business Combination (as defined herein) disrupts our current plans and operations and potential difficulties in employee retention as a result of the Business Combination;

•costs related to being a public company;

•the ability to recognize the anticipated benefits of the Business Combination;

•limited liquidity and trading of our securities;

•the outcome of any legal proceedings, including any legal proceedings related to the Equity Purchase Agreement or the Business Combination;

•the ability to maintain the listing of our securities on the NYSE American LLC (“NYSE American”) or any other national securities exchange;

•that the price of our securities may be volatile due to a variety of factors, including changes in the competitive and highly regulated industry in which we operate, variations in operating performance across competitors, changes in laws and regulations affecting our business and any changes in our capital structure;

•the risks associated with our indebtedness including the Senior Note and its potential impact on our business and financial condition;

•the risk of downturns in the aviation industry, including due to increases in fuel costs in light of the war in Ukraine, the Israel and Hamas conflict in Gaza and other global political and economic issues;

•a changing regulatory landscape in the highly competitive aviation industry;

•risks associated with the overall economy, including recent and expected future increases in interest rates and the potential for recession; and

•other risks and uncertainties set forth under the section of this Report entitled “Risk Factors.”

Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should any of the underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary in material respects from those expressed or implied by these forward- looking

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statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements, and we assume no obligation and do not intend to update or revise these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

SUMMARY OF RISK FACTORS

Our business and securities are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, including those highlighted in the section entitled “Risk Factors” included in Item 1A of Part I of this Report, that represent challenges that we face in connection with the successful implementation of our strategy and the growth of our business. In particular, the following considerations, among others, may offset our competitive strengths or have a negative effect on our business strategy, which could cause a decline in the price of our securities and result in a loss of all or a portion of your investment.

•We might not be able to successfully implement our growth strategies;

•We will require additional liquidity and capital resources to achieve our projected growth rate, which might not be available to us;

•We are exposed to the risk of a decrease in demand for private aviation services;

•The loss of key personnel upon whom we depend on to operate our business or the inability to attract additional qualified personnel could adversely affect our business;

•The supply of pilots to the airline industry is limited and may negatively affect our operations and financial condition;

•Pilot attrition may negatively affect our operations and financial condition;

•Increases in our labor costs, which constitute a substantial portion of our total operating costs, may adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition;

•Significant reliance on third-party aircraft engine manufacturers and engine management companies poses risks to our owned and leased aircraft and operations;

•We are exposed to operational disruptions due to maintenance;

•Our transition to in-house maintenance, repair and overhaul activities could prove unsuccessful or impact key relationships;

•Significant increases in fuel costs could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations;

•Cybersecurity breaches and other incidents involving the unauthorized disclosure of personal or confidential information could materially adversely affect our business and operating results;

•Our obligations in connection with our indebtedness and other contractual obligations could impair our liquidity and harm our business, results of operations and financial condition;

•We are subject to significant governmental regulations;

•We are a “controlled company” within the meaning of the NYSE American listing standards and, as a result, qualify for, and intend to rely on, exemptions from certain corporate governance requirements which would not provide you the same protections afforded to stockholders of companies that are subject to such requirements;

•The multi-class structure of our Common Stock has the effect of concentrating voting power with our Chief Executive Officer, which will limit other stockholders’ ability to influence the outcomes of important transactions, including a change of control;

•We cannot predict whether our multi-class structure will result in a lower or more volatile market price of our securities or in adverse publicity or other adverse consequences;

•We identified material weaknesses in our internal controls over financial reporting, and we may identify additional material weaknesses in the future that may cause us to fail to meet our reporting obligations or result in material misstatements of our financial statements. If we fail to remediate any material weaknesses or if we otherwise fail to establish and maintain effective control over financial reporting, our ability to accurately and timely report our financial results could be adversely affected;

•There can be no assurance that we will be able to comply with the continued listing standards of NYSE American, which could limit investors’ ability to make transactions in our securities and subject us to additional trading restrictions;

•If securities or industry analysts do not publish or cease publishing research or reports about our Company, our business, or our market, or if they change their recommendations regarding our securities adversely, the price and trading volume of our securities could decline; and

•Substantial future sales of our Class A common stock that is to be registered for resale by certain stockholders could cause the market price of our Class A common stock to decline.

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PART I

Item 1. Business

Overview of the Business

LGM Enterprises, LLC, a North Carolina limited liability company ("LGM"), is a premier owner/operator of jet aircraft to provide private jet passengers experiences dedicated to surpassing expectations for quality, convenience, and safety. flyExclusive’s mission is to be the world’s most vertically integrated private aviation company, offering a full range of industry services.

Since 2015, flyExclusive has grown from two LGM/partner owned jets to 100 owned and leased aircraft and is currently the fifth largest private jet operator in the United States (based on 2023 flight hours). LGM operates a selected fleet of Cessna Citation, Gulfstream and Challenger aircraft to service customers flying domestically and internationally. As one of the nation’s largest Citation operators, flyExclusive has curated a versatile fleet of Citation CJ3 / CJ3+, Citation Excel / XLS / XLS+, Citation Encore+, Citation Sovereign, Citation X, and Challenger 350 aircraft. The introduction of Gulfstream aircraft into flyExclusive’s fleet in 2020, opened up the opportunity for flyExclusive to expand its footprint internationally. flyExclusive’s purposeful focus on the acquisition of a limited number of manufacturers' aircraft enables flyExclusive to operate and maintain fewer types of aircraft than most competitors. Our maintenance crews are more efficient given the recurrent nature of their work, which in turn improves dispatch availability of our fleet.

Operations are centered at flyExclusive’s corporate headquarters in Kinston, North Carolina. Located within the North Carolina Global TransPark (NCGTP), flyExclusive leases approximately 145,000 square feet of office and hangar space from the NCGTP’s 2,500-acre multimodal industrial park, which boasts an 11,500-foot runway. Kinston is within two hours of approximately 70% of flyExclusive flights. So our location is ideal for organizational synergy and for cost-effective, strategic growth.

In the second half of 2020, flyExclusive launched its jet club, which earned the Robb Report’s “Best of the Best” in 2022. With its efficient pricing model and bespoke, customer-centered approach, the jet club has experienced significant growth, offering multi-tiered membership options.

Consistent with LGM’s vertical integration mission in the private aviation industry, flyExclusive officially launched its Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (“MRO”) operation in the third quarter of 2021, offering interiors and exterior refurbishment services to third parties in addition to maintaining its own fleet. flyExclusive began installing avionics in its mid-size fleet in second quarter of 2022. This affected a significant reduction in aircraft-on-ground due to avionics-related issues which was the primary reason for grounded aircraft. LGM plans to install avionics in its entire fleet on an as-needed basis.

Management’s vision for a capital-efficient, asset-light channel to complete customer offerings became a reality in the second quarter of 2022 with the introduction of flyExclusive’s fractional ownership program. Fractional members purchase or place a deposit towards a fractional share and have immediate access to flyExclusive’s light, mid and super-mid fleets through separate operating deposits. Under the fractional program LGM realizes a profit on the sale, amortized over the life of the contract, while maintaining control of the aircraft and providing a superior customer experience with no monthly management fees, no blackout dates, and minimal peak days.

With the introduction of the fractional program in Q2 2022, LGM ordered five CJ3+ aircraft from Textron Aviation with options to purchase up to 25 additional CJ3+. Following that, in Q4 of 2022, LGM entered into an aircraft purchase agreement to purchase up to 14 additional aircraft, expanding LGM’s order into the mid and super-mid aircraft categories, anticipating delivery from 2024 to 2027. All of these aircraft are expected to be operated under flyExclusive’s fractional ownership program. Also, in Q3 of 2022, flyExclusive opened a new 48,000 square foot hangar, dedicated to its growing MRO division, that substantially expanded its avionics, maintenance, paint, and interior work.

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LGM’s Values:

The culture at flyExclusive is based on a commitment to safety that permeates LGM’s values:

1.Safety First – flyExclusive is committed to delivering safety beyond the industry standard, with conscientious crew training, meticulous jet maintenance, and third-party safety consultant verification, operating an Aviation Research Group United States (“ARGUS”) Platinum Rated fleet and exceeding all FAA standards.

2.Minutes Matter – LGM demands safety, efficiency, cost control, and accuracy throughout all operations, with a dedicated focus on making employee minutes matter to make moments matter for customers.

3.Team of Humble Professionals – Professionals at flyExclusive use decades of flying experience, private aviation industry knowledge, and fleet logistics expertise to deliver premium experiences for customers. flyExclusive teams strive to collaborate and communicate effectively and efficiently; our success is attributable to all department levels from support to management.

4.Winning Attitude – Within the private aviation competitive space, LGM continuously pursues excellence through hard work, hustle, and a commitment to achieve with an “all-in,” winning attitude.

5.Part of a Larger Cause – LGM dedicates time, talents, and resources to provide relief to a variety of local, regional, and national organizations. flyExclusive professionals deliver premium experiences not only to customers, but also to neighbors and communities in need.

Strategy

flyExclusive’s vertical integration mission is to strategically grow into a full-service private aviation company with essentially all its operations based in Kinston, North Carolina. Key initiatives include the following:

1.Program Growth – flyExclusive maintains an industry-leading private aviation platform with 99%+ of customers’ flights fulfilled by the flyExclusive fleet. Affiliate lift is an expensive solution to aircraft availability in the private jet charter industry. Most operators are unable to fulfill their demand using their fleets alone, so they must outsource flights to a third party, which can be costly. flyExclusive has had very little affiliate lift (less than 1%) since we maximize efficiency around scheduling – requiring 4 or 5 days of advance trip notice instead of hours as do many of our competitors. Our customers can still schedule with only a few hours’ notice, but they pay a premium to do so.

2.Aircraft Control – With the introduction of fractional ownership and continued development of the jet club and its unique, industry leading pricing model, flyExclusive can meet a variety of customer needs using capital-efficient programs.

3.Dispatch Availability – In 2021, flyExclusive opened an MRO facility to paint, refurbish and maintain aircraft. The MRO initiative addresses consistent maintenance shortages industry-wide caused by high demand, and flyExclusive has modeled a transition from approximately 20% in-house maintenance to a targeted 80% in-house maintenance, improving reliability, efficiency, and substantially reducing costs. The MRO initiative also provides a new revenue stream from third parties for future growth.

4.Modernized Fleet – With an on-site paint facility and refurbishment center, flyExclusive works to ensure a modernized, uniform exterior and interior of its aircraft, providing customers a better overall experience on a consistently branded and upgraded aircraft. flyExclusive controls the entire customer experience with our consistent brand of jets, exteriors, interiors, and pilots.

5.In-House Pilot Training – On-campus pilot training and new simulator facilities will ensure the timing and availability of both new pilot hires and recurring training. While our competitors are subject to third-party availability for training classes, we will be in control of our training program needs that can produce consistent, reliable results, aimed to remove what we believe is the greatest bottleneck to growth within the aviation industry, resulting in faster on-boarding of pilots by reducing training wait times and lowering costs.

flyExclusive’s charter business has evolved from primarily ad hoc non-contractual wholesale business prior to 2020 to a focus on serving retail customers. flyExclusive’s wholesale and retail ad-hoc customers are non-contractual and have decreased as a percentage of total charter revenue with the increase of flyExclusive’s GRP, jet club, Fractional and Partner

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contracts. The evolution of flyExclusive’s charter business from non-contractual wholesale operations to servicing contractual retail customers provides LGM with significant customer and revenue visibility.

Most flight revenue is pre-paid and is recognized upon completion of the flight. Contractual programs outline pricing premiums for peak and high demand days, and for reservation notices within the agreed to number of days.

flyExclusive’s required flight notice periods for contractual members and partners are purposefully designed to be longer in length than industry standards. The increased notice period allows flyExclusive to dispatch its aircraft more efficiently. Flights are scheduled logistically according to geographical location to minimize repositioning of aircraft and maximize revenue-producing legs. flyExclusive leverages this multi-day lead time to optimize scheduling, reduce the need to use third-party affiliate aircraft, and maintain a lean customer-to-aircraft ratio. We fly 99%+ of our customers on the flyExclusive fleet, establishing what we believe is the industry-leading customer experience.

Competitive Advantages and Strengths

We believe flyExclusive has an optimal business model that differentiates flyExclusive from its competitors. The following points outline management’s view on flyExclusive’s key competitive advantages and strengths:

1.Asset Growth – flyExclusive focuses on aircraft acquisition versus operator acquisition. With the launching of the fractional program in 2022 and signing the Textron aircraft acquisition agreement, as well as the 2023 contract to purchase Challenger 350 aircraft from Bombardier, LGM plans to expand its fleet with brand new aircraft that’s fully leased and purchased at the end of the lease. The repurchase opens a second opportunity to sell the aircraft to owners/partners. LGM also plans to continue acquiring used aircraft that can be fully renovated with our value-add process, and then sold to owners/partners at market rates. These dual channels will maximize our consistent, organic growth.

2. Customer Fulfillment – 99%+ of our customers fly on flyExclusive’s fleet, avoiding the need for us to rely on third-party operators to fulfill demand. flyExclusive maintains a sharp focus on managing a lean customer-to-aircraft ratio, which contributes to operational efficiencies and what we believe is an industry-leading customer experience.

3.Operational Profitability – flyExclusive has been EBITDA positive since its second year of operations. flyExclusive invests heavily in aircraft, infrastructure, technology and people to deliver a premium experience for customers, while executing with efficient operations to drive consistent profitability.

4.Aircraft Control – With a mix of owned and leased aircraft in its fleet, flyExclusive structures partnerships to maintain operational control of its aircraft. We operate our “floating fleet” to minimize non-revenue producing flights. FlyExclusive’s dispatch availability metric is not dependent on other operators’ fleets to fulfill customer flight demand.

5.Customer Experience –When a customer flies with flyExclusive, they can depend on its jets, pilots, interiors, and exteriors to ensure a leading customer experience. Our proprietary customer and pilot apps are designed to ensure the customers’ experience is as convenient and flawless as possible.

6.Customer/Jet Ratio – flyExclusive maintains the lowest customer-to-aircraft ratio among its direct competitors. This number is key to the success of the business as flyExclusive’s leadership is able to use and forecast membership growth to plan aircraft acquisition with foresight into capacity. This stands in clear opposition to our competitors who are regularly challenged to fulfill over-committed demand with flights on third-party aircraft.

7.Maintenance / Refurbishment – With the launch of its MRO operations, flyExclusive is able to transition to a higher percentage of in-house maintenance as opposed to relying on third parties for more costly work and extended wait times. Our MRO operations also provide a revenue stream from third-party fleet operators. Our in-house refurbishment capabilities offer a value-add opportunity for used aircraft purchased, added to the fleet and then sold to our partner/owners.

8.Jet Branding – flyExclusive’s aggressive branding campaign to refurbish its entire fleet shows a commitment to providing a reliable and enhanced experience for customers who show appreciation with positive feedback, continued business, and referrals.

9.Location – Headquartered in Kinston, North Carolina, the cost of LGM’s geographical footprint, labor, and overall operations are lower than competitors who maintain fragmented locations in higher-cost areas.

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flyExclusive’s position on the vast acreage at the NCGTP allows not only for cost efficiency, but also for organizational synergy and the opportunity for additional strategic infrastructure projects to continue LGM’s vertical integration mission within the private aviation industry.

10.Spend – flyExclusive spends money on its fleet, customers and IT initiatives dedicated to improving the private jet experience. Sales are largely generated based on referrals, and flyExclusive’s marketing budget is lean and not spent on brand or “sizzle” in comparison to other competitors in the industry.

11.Lead Time – four-to-five-day lead times are contractual among flyExclusive’s partners, jet club, and fractional members. flyExclusive leverages this opportunity to position its fleet according to geographical location, maintenance, and crew availability to meet demand and optimize dispatch availability. Wholesale and ad-hoc retail bookings are scheduled based on the same qualifications, but with advance notice that flyExclusive uses to backfill demand at higher rates as opposed to competitors who may be challenged to fulfill trips within hours of notice.

12.Pilot Training – Private aviation consistently views pilot hiring as one of the biggest bottlenecks to the industry, whereas flyExclusive management maintains that outsourcing pilot training is the largest hurdle. When pilots are hired, they onboard and often wait for weeks before they are able to train and fly. flyExclusive plans to bring the majority of its training in-house in 2024 with a new facility and simulators. This strategic initiative is expected to result in cost savings and efficient scheduling with minimal delay, contributing to more uptime for our aircraft and increased dispatch availability.

Product

Charter Channels

Wholesale and Retail Ad Hoc Customers

Wholesale customers are third-party affiliates who need aircraft to service their own customers’ flight needs. Retail ad hoc customers are individuals or entities who are not members in any of flyExclusive’s programs and who book their private air travel directly with flyExclusive. Typically sold within three days of the flight, wholesale and retail ad hoc sales are used to optimize revenue through the use of available and otherwise unused aircraft. These services are also used to reposition aircraft to locations where other customers have reserved flights, improving operational efficiencies. Wholesale and retail ad hoc customers are quoted and pay based on a proprietary pricing model that considers daily and hourly rates, plus incidental costs.

Jet Club

Since its inception in 2020, flyExclusive’s jet club has experienced significant membership growth. Typically requiring reservations be made four days in advance of the flight, flyExclusive’s jet club is divided into five different program types, with the most recent program introduced in June 2023.

Jet Club Program Types:

Fly Club and Exclusive Club are two legacy jet club programs that are no longer sold. However, existing customers can elect to add funds to their account to prepay their travel costs, and continue their membership under these programs. The Fly Club rates are calculated hourly with segment length minimums and there is no annual fee. The Exclusive Club rates are calculated hourly with segment length minimums plus an annual fee.

Jet club I and jet club II are also legacy clubs that are no longer sold. However, existing customers can elect to add funds to their account to prepay their travel costs, and continue their membership under these programs. Jet club flight revenue is calculated based on daily and hourly rates with a monthly fee. Jet club I and jet club II rates are calculated based on the North American Jet Fuel A price per barrel at contract signing. Rate adjustments are calculated in increments based on a sliding scale according to jet fuel pricing and adjust (if applicable) on January 1st and July 1st of each year.

Jet club III was introduced in May of 2022. Customers pay for memberships in deposits based on four different levels with monthly fees. Rates are calculated based on the North American Jet Fuel A price per barrel at contract signing. Rate adjustments are calculated in increments based on a sliding scale according to jet fuel pricing and adjust (if applicable) monthly.

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Under the Platinum jet club program that was introduced in March of 2023, customers pay for memberships in deposits based on two different levels. Rates are fixed with a longer call-out period, no peak or high-demand days, and no membership fee. Platinum jet club memberships have a 12 month term.

The most recent jet club program, jet club IV, was announced in June of 2023. Customers pay a deposit based on which of the three membership levels they choose. In addition to daily and hourly rates, members pay a monthly membership fee. The membership has a 24 month term, with rates adjusted after the first anniversary based on changes in aircraft operating costs and fuel prices.

Partner

flyExclusive’s partnership program provides a valuable service to aircraft owners while cost-effectively growing the fleet. flyExclusive purchases and upfits the aircraft, then sells it at a premium and leases it back thereby retaining control of the aircraft. flyExclusive assumes responsibility for maintenance and operations via a triple net lease. Partner benefits include tax depreciation and flights at owner’s rates, which can optimize cash flow for owners. Partner travel is typically sold within five days of a flight at which time partners are quoted, agree to and then pay based on partner rates plus incidentals or other additional costs according to individual contracts. In some cases, partners elect to receive flight credits in lieu of lease payments.

GRP

GRP revenue is a contractual agreement for flyExclusive to provide a certain number of aircraft to another charter business. The program is based on contract rates for light, mid, and super-mid aircraft. Revenue is billed weekly and guaranteed based on the number of designated aircraft flying at a minimum number of hours per aircraft for each aircraft assigned to the GRP customer over a minimum number of days per quarter to allow for maintenance of the aircraft. Each designated aircraft requires a deposit that is recorded in other non-current liabilities on the balance sheet. Contract terms allow for ancillary revenue to be billed or reduced based on given circumstances of a flight. Hourly rates are revised each quarter to account for changes in fuel cost.

Fractional

Fractional ownership is sold in percentage increments. Owners have the option to pay for their portion of the aircraft as a partial deposit or full payment. Fractional members pay separate deposits for the use of flight services.

MRO

flyExclusive has invested heavily in its maintenance, paint, interiors, and avionics program through the launch of its MRO program and facilities. Key components of the MRO operation include multiple shifts of 24/7 maintenance and the build out of on-site infrastructure dedicated to reducing downtime and improving uptime for the fleet, and to generate third-party revenue.

Other

LGM also receives income in the form of aircraft sales commissions, the gain/(loss) on sales of investments, and charter services.

Government Regulation

We are subject to government regulation at local, state, federal and international levels. The scope of these regulations is broad, covering a wide range of subjects that include, but are not limited to, those summarized below.

Principal Domestic Regulatory Authorities

The following paragraphs summarize the roles of some of the most prominent domestic regulators of our business.

The Federal Aviation Administration (“FAA”) is the principal regulator of civil aviation safety matters. As applied to our business, flyExclusive possesses an air carrier certificate issued by the FAA in accordance Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations (“14 C.F.R.”) Part 119, an and possesses Operations Specification issued pursuant to 14 C.F.R. Part 135, authorizing flyExclusive to engage in on-demand air-taxi operations and a Repair Station Operator certificate issued

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pursuant to 14 C.F.R. Part 145, authorizing flyExclusive to perform maintenance, repair, paint, interior, and avionics services on aircraft. The FAA’s regulations touch on many aspects of civil aviation, including:

•Certification and oversight of air carriers;

•Aircraft inspection, maintenance, repair, and registration;

•Flight crewmember and maintenance technician training, certification, and surveillance;

•Monitoring drug and alcohol testing for safety-sensitive personnel;

•Airport and airport facility design, construction, and maintenance;

•Air traffic control system oversight, management, training, and maintenance;

There are many FAA regulations that may impact our operations and business. They include but are not limited to the following Parts found in Title 14 of the C.F.R.

“Part 43” contains the regulations for aircraft maintenance, preventative maintenance, rebuilding, and alteration. This Part prescribes the requirements to perform all aircraft maintenance, including the documentation, inspection, and applicable processes and standards.

“Part 91” contains the general operating rules for flight safety. These rules govern all flight operations, including private and commercial operations, except to the extent that the commercial operations are subject to additional rules found in other parts of the FAA regulations.

“Part 119” contains rules that govern air carriers. This Part prescribes air carrier certificate requirements, requirements for management personnel employed by an air carrier (i.e. Director of Operations, Director of Maintenance, etc.), and it states which operations are not required to be conducted under Part 135.

“Part 120” contains drug and alcohol testing requirements for Part 135 air carriers and Part 145 repair stations. This Part also contains requirements for record keeping and addressing positive alcohol and drug testing results.

“Part 135” contains additional rules that apply to commercial “on-demand” operations, including crew member rest and duty requirements. “On-demand” operations include flights where the departure location, departure time, and arrival location are specifically negotiated with the customer or the customer’s representative.

“Part 145” contains the rules that govern aircraft maintenance, repair, and overhaul (“MRO”) operations at certificated repair stations. These repair stations are also referred to as MRO facilities. This Part prescribes the requirements to receive Part 145 certification, facility requirements for performing inspection and maintenance work, personnel qualifications, and the type of repair or inspection work that the facility is authorized to conduct.

As the operator of our nation’s air traffic control system, the FAA is responsible for air traffic management. From time to time, the FAA may restrict certain airspace for safety or national security concerns. For example, the FAA may implement a Temporary Flight Restriction (“TFR”) after a natural disaster to reserve certain airspace for emergency response aircraft. TFRs and other airspace restrictions may impact our ability to takeoff or land at certain airports and may also require us to select alternate flight routes. Most TFRs and other airspace restrictions are temporary and have little to no impact on our flight operations.

The U.S. Department of Transportation (“DOT”) is the principal regulator of economic matters in the aviation industry. DOT oversees the operations of flyExclusive, which operates as an air taxi with under a DOT 14 C.F.R. Part 298 exemption that provides certain exemptions from some economic regulatory provisions of Subtitle VII of Title 49, and provides regulations related to various consumer protections applicable to flyExclusive. These regulations include economic authority to conduct business as an air carrier, as well as consumer protection and insurance requirements that apply to our air carrier business operations.

DOT also enforces U.S. laws governing the citizenship of air carriers. We must ensure that we meet DOT’s citizenship requirements so that flyExclusive can maintain its air carrier certificate. This means that flyExclusive must be under the actual control of U.S. citizens (as defined in 49 U.S.C. Section 40102(a)(15)), and must satisfy certain other requirements, including that its president/chief executive officer and at least two-thirds of its board of directors and other managing officers are U.S. citizens, and that at least 75% of its voting stock is owned and controlled, directly and indirectly, by U.S. citizens. The amount of non-voting stock that may be owned or controlled by non-U.S. citizens is limited as well.

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National Transportation Safety Board (“NTSB”) is an independent agency that oversees aircraft accident investigations. NTSB regulations governing accident notification are contained in 14 CFR Part 830. NTSB does not regulate aviation, but it does have the authority to issue subpoenas in conjunction with accident investigations. NTSB may, at its discretion, delegate accident investigation duties to the FAA.

The Transportation Security Administration (“TSA”) is an agency under the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”). TSA is the principal regulator of security in aviation. This includes security in commercial air transportation and at airports. Because of the type of aircraft that we operate and because we operate under Part 135, our passengers undergo security screening by flyExclusive. We are required to have twelve-five standard security program which is reviewed and accepted by TSA. TSA may require us to make certain updates to our security program from time to time. Because of security considerations, we are prohibited from disclosing the contents of our program.

Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”), also an agency of DHS, is the principal regulator of customs and immigration matters. CBP also enforces certain public health matters affecting the aviation industry. When our operations include an international flight, we must provide CBP with an advance disclosure of passenger information, facilitate CBP’s inspection of baggage, and help ensure the proper disposal of any foreign-originating refuse on the aircraft. CBP also oversees entry and clearance into the U.S. This includes importing a foreign-based aircraft into the U.S. for purchase, issuing international arrival clearances for landing in the U.S., and issuing overflight permits for certain international flight arrivals.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) is the principal federal regulator of safety in the workplace. OSHA governs safety requirements in our aircraft maintenance operations. For example, employees may be required to wear a safety harness and certain personal protective equipment when performing maintenance-related tasks.

The International Civil Aviation Organization (“ICAO”) was founded by the Chicago Convention (1944) and is funded and directed by 193 national governments, including the U.S. While it is not a global regulator, it does adopt standards once a diplomatic consensus is reached among its stakeholders. On October 7, 2022, ICAO adopted a long-term global aspirational goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. On September 23, 2022, U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm announced the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Grand Challenge Roadmap, a comprehensive plan that outlines a government-wide strategy for scaling up new technologies to produce sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs) across the U.S. airline industry. This project includes collaboration with the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) and the FAA, and will enable the U.S. to meet President Biden’s clean energy goal of a net-zero carbon economy by 2050. In January 2021, the EPA promulgated new rules relating to the greenhouse gas emissions from carbon fuels used in aircraft engines. These areas of regulation are not yet settled and are subject to change based on domestic and foreign political considerations and advancements in technology, making it impossible to say how these developments might impact our business in the future.

Most airports where we operate are owned and operated by state and local government entities. These airport authorities have the right to impose certain safety, security, and other regulations so long as they do not conflict with federal law. Airport authorities also have extensive property rights that empower them to impose conditions on airport facility use and airport property and building leases, including passenger facility charges and related fees. Airports that accept federal funds are required to adhere to certain grant assurance requirements (contracts) with the federal government. Airport tenants are required to adhere to certain grant assurance requirements, and sometimes terms in airport lease agreements are less favorable than would be customary for real estate or other transactions outside of an airport environment.

Foreign Regulatory Authorities

Most foreign countries have their own regulatory authorities that parallel those found in the U.S. The complexity of interaction with the foreign regulators can be magnified by differences in language, culture, legal and social norms, tax and budgetary practices, and perspective on economic development and competition.

Privacy and Data Protection

As part of our day-to-day business operations and the services we provide, including through our website and mobile application, we receive collect, store, process, transmit, share, and use various kinds of personal information pertaining to our employees, members and other travelers, aircraft owners and buyers, and business partners. A variety of federal, state, local, and foreign laws and regulations apply, or could in the future apply as our business grows and expands, to our processing of that personal information, depending on the nature of the information we process and the locations of the individuals to whom it pertains, among other factors.

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These laws and regulations are continually evolving and are subject to potentially differing interpretations, including as to their scope and applicability to our business. They may include, but are not limited to, comprehensive consumer privacy and data protection laws such as the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 and the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation and state data security and data breach notification laws that apply to certain sensitive categories of personal information, such as government-issued identification numbers and personal financial and health information.

When and to the extent these laws and regulations apply they can impose a range of obligations on our business. Those obligations can include, among other requirements, providing individuals with privacy notices and giving them an opportunity to opt in or out of our processing or sharing of their personal information; offering, and fulfilling individuals’ requests to exercise, various rights with respect to our use, disclosure, and retention of the personal information we maintain; implementing physical, technical, and organizational security measures to safeguard personal information; and notifying individuals and regulatory authorities in the event personal information is subject to unauthorized access or disclosure. Violations of these laws and regulations can give rise to enforcement actions by governmental agencies, and to private lawsuits for damages and other forms of relief.

Corporate Information

We were formed as a Delaware corporation for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or other similar business combination with one or more businesses or entities. As such, we were a blank check company. On December 27, 2023, we merged (the “Business Combination”) with LGM Enterprises, LLC, a North Carolina limited liability company (“LGM”), pursuant to an Equity Purchase Agreement, dated as of October 17, 2022 (as amended on April 21, 2023, the “Equity Purchase Agreement”), with LGM, the existing equityholders of LGM (the “Existing Equityholders”), EG Sponsor LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“Sponsor”), and Thomas James Segrave, Jr. (“Segrave Jr.”) in his capacity as Existing Equityholder Representative. Upon the closing of the Business Combination, LGM became our wholly owned subsidiary. LGM was formed on October 3, 2011. LGM became fully operational in April of 2015 upon the expiration of a non-compete agreement between our Chief Executive Officer, Segrave, Jr. and Delta Airlines. Our subsidiary, Exclusive Jets, LLC, was formed as a limited liability company in North Carolina on June 4, 2013.

Item 1A. Risk Factors

An investment in our securities involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully consider the risks described below before making an investment decision. Our business, prospects, financial condition, or operating results could be harmed by any of these risks, as well as other risks not currently known to us or that we currently consider immaterial. The trading price of our securities could decline due to any of these risks, and, as a result, you may lose all or part of your investment.

In the course of conducting our business operations, we are exposed to a variety of risks. These risks are generally inherent to the private commercial aviation industry. Any of the risk factors we describe below have affected or could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. The market price of shares of our Class A Common Stock could decline, possibly significantly or permanently, if one or more of these risks and uncertainties occurs. Some statements in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, including statements in the following risk factors constitute forward-looking statements. See “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements,” at the beginning of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Risks Relating to Our Business and Industry

We might not be able to successfully implement our growth strategies.

Our growth strategies include, among other things, expanding our addressable market by opening up private aviation to non-members through our marketplace, expanding into new domestic and international markets and developing adjacent businesses. We face numerous challenges in implementing our growth strategies, including our ability to execute on market, business, product/service and geographic expansions. Our strategies for growth are dependent on, among other things, our ability to expand existing products and service offerings and launch new products and service offerings. Although we devote significant financial and other resources to the expansion of our products and service offerings, including increasing our access to available aircraft supply, these efforts might not be commercially successful or achieve the desired results. Our financial results and our ability to maintain or improve our competitive position will depend on our ability to effectively gauge the direction of our key marketplaces and successfully identify, develop, market and sell new or

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improved products and services in these changing marketplaces. Our inability to successfully implement our growth strategies could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations and any assumptions underlying estimates of expected cost savings or expected revenues may be inaccurate.

Our operating results are expected to be difficult to predict based on a number of factors that also will affect our long-term performance.

We expect our operating results to fluctuate significantly in the future based on a variety of factors, many of which are outside our control and difficult to predict. As a result, period-to-period comparisons of our operating results might not be a good indicator of our future or long-term performance. The following factors may affect us from period-to-period and may affect our long-term performance:

•we may fail to successfully execute our business, marketing and other strategies;

•we may experience the detrimental effects of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic such as outbreaks of disease that affect travel behaviors;

•we may be unable to attract new customers and/or retain existing customers;

•we may be unable to obtain the foreign authorizations and permits necessary to operate in some international markets, and we are limited by international cabotage laws from operating point-to-point within most countries, including the European Union and the United Kingdom;

•we may be impacted by changes in consumer preferences, perceptions, spending patterns and demographic trends;

•we may require additional capital to finance strategic investments and operations, pursue business objectives and respond to business opportunities, challenges or unforeseen circumstances, and we cannot be sure that additional financing will be available or at reasonable prices and terms;

•our historical growth rates might not be reflective of our future growth;

•our business and operating results may be significantly impacted by actual or potential changes to the international, national, regional and local economic, business and financial conditions, the health of the global private aviation industry and risks associated with our aviation assets including recession, inflation and higher interest rates;

•litigation or investigations involving us could result in material settlements, fines or penalties and may adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations;

•existing or new adverse regulations or interpretations thereof applicable to our industry may restrict our ability to expand or to operate our business as we wish and may expose us to fines and other penalties;

•the occurrence of geopolitical events such as war, terrorism, civil unrest, political instability, environmental or climatic factors, natural disaster, pandemic or epidemic outbreak, public health crisis and general economic conditions may have an adverse effect on our business;

•some of our potential losses might not be covered by insurance, and we may be unable to obtain or maintain adequate insurance coverage; and

•we are potentially subject to taxation-related risks in multiple jurisdictions, and changes in tax laws could have a material adverse effect on our business, cash flow, results of operations or financial condition.

In order to achieve our projected growth rate, we will require additional liquidity and capital resources that might not be available on terms that are favorable to us, or at all.

To grow at the rate of our projections, we will need to acquire and pay for the additional aircraft we have on order, of which up to approximately 20% will become due for payment before the end of the first half of 2024. Our growth strategy assumes that we will raise sufficient capital to support our projections and provide the necessary working capital needed to grow per our projections. However, we currently do not have the available cash to provide us with adequate liquidity for the purchase of the additional aircraft. There is no assurance that we will be able to raise this additional capital or generate sufficient future cash flow to fund the purchases of these additional aircraft. If the amount of capital we are able to raise, together with any income from future operations, is not sufficient to add the number of planes needed under our projections, we might not achieve our projected growth rate.

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Our ability to obtain necessary financing, whether in the form of equity, debt (asset-backed or otherwise) and/or hybrid financings, may be impaired by factors such as the health of and access to capital markets and our limited track record as a public company, and may be on terms that are unfavorable to us, if available at all. Any additional capital raised through the sale of additional shares of our capital stock, convertible debt or other equity may dilute the ownership percentage of our stockholders.

We might not be able to grow our complementary products and service offerings through opportunistic acquisitions or otherwise as part of our growth strategy. Any failure to adequately integrate future acquisitions into our business could have a material adverse effect on us.

From time to time, we may consider opportunities to acquire other companies, products or technologies that may enhance our products and service offerings or technology, expand the breadth of our markets or customer base, or advance our business strategies. Any such transaction could be material to our business and could take any number of forms, including mergers, joint ventures and the purchase of equity interests. The consideration for such transactions may include, among other things, cash, common stock or our equity interests, and in conjunction with a transaction we might incur indebtedness. If we elect to pursue an acquisition, our ability to successfully implement such transaction would depend on a variety of factors. If we need to obtain any third parties’ consent prior to an acquisition, they may refuse to provide such consent or condition their consent on our compliance with additional restrictive covenants that limit our operating flexibility.

Acquisition transactions involve risks, including, but not limited to:

•insufficient revenue to offset liabilities assumed;

•inadequate return of capital;

•regulatory or compliance issues, including securing and maintaining regulatory approvals;

•unidentified issues not discovered in due diligence;

•those associated with integrating the operations or (as applicable) separately maintaining the operations;

•financial reporting;

•managing geographically dispersed operations resulting from an acquisition;

•the diversion of management’s attention from current operations;

•potential unknown risks associated with an acquisition;

•unanticipated expenses related to acquired businesses or technologies and their integration into our existing business or technology;

•the potential loss of key employees, customers or partners of an acquired business; or

•the tax effects of any such acquisitions.

We might not successfully integrate any future acquisitions and might not achieve anticipated revenue and cost benefits relating to any such transactions. Realizing the benefits of acquisitions depends in part on the integration of operations and personnel. If we do not complete an announced acquisition transaction or integrate an acquired business successfully and in a timely manner, we might not realize the benefits of the acquisition to the extent anticipated, and in certain circumstances an acquisition could harm our financial position. In addition, strategic transactions may be expensive, time consuming and may strain our resources. Such transactions might not be accretive to our earnings and may negatively impact our results of operations as a result of, among other things, the incurrence or assumption of indebtedness, or the impairment or write-off of goodwill and intangible assets. Furthermore, strategic transactions that we may pursue could result in dilutive issuances of equity securities. As a result of the risks inherent in such transactions, we cannot guarantee that any future transaction will be completed successfully or that it will ultimately result in the realization of our anticipated benefits or that it will not have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations. If we were to complete such an acquisition, investment or other strategic transaction, we may require debt financing that could result in significant indebtedness and debt service obligations.

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We are exposed to the risk of a decrease in demand for private aviation services.

If demand for private aviation services were to decrease, this could result in slower jet club growth, members declining to renew their memberships and reduced interest in the fractional and partnership programs, all of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, our customers may consider private air travel through our products and services to be a luxury item, especially when compared to commercial air travel. As a result, any general downturn in economic, business and financial conditions which has an adverse effect on our customers’ spending habits could cause them to travel less frequently and, to the extent they travel, to travel using commercial air carriers or other means considered to be more economical than our products and services. In addition, in cases where significant hours of private flight are needed, many of the companies and high-net-worth individuals to whom we provide products and services have the financial ability to purchase their own aircraft or operate their own corporate flight department should they elect to do so.

The private aviation industry is subject to competition.

Many of the markets in which we operate are competitive as a result of the expansion of existing private aircraft operators, expanding private aircraft ownership and alternatives such as luxury commercial airline service. We compete against a number of private aviation operators with different business models, and local and regional private operators. Factors that affect competition in our industry include price, reliability, safety, regulations, professional reputation, aircraft availability, equipment and quality, consistency and ease of service, willingness and ability to serve specific airports or regions and investment requirements. There can be no assurance that our competitors will not be successful in capturing a share of our present or potential customer base. The materialization of any of these risks could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

The outbreak and global spread of COVID-19 adversely impacted certain aspects of our business. The return of COVID-19 as a significant health threat or the outbreak and spread of any other public health threats that we may face in the future, could result in adverse effects on our business, operating results, including financial condition and liquidity.

The COVID-19 outbreak, along with the measures governments and private organizations worldwide implemented in an attempt to contain the spread of this pandemic, resulted in an overall decline in demand for air travel, which decline was severe in late spring and early summer of 2020. In response to the pandemic, we implemented certain initiatives and safety measures to limit the spread of COVID-19. Such initiatives and measures resulted in increased costs to our business and while the recent abatement of the COVID-19 pandemic has allowed us to return to substantially pre-pandemic operations, outbreaks of variants of COVID-19 in the future could require us to re-implement such initiatives and safety measures.

Outbreaks of variants of COVID-19 have also disrupted our operations and accentuated other risks to our business, such as the availability of qualified flight personnel see“ —The loss of key personnel upon whom we depend on to operate our business or the inability to attract additional qualified personnel could adversely affect our business” and reliance on our third-party service providers see “ —Significant reliance on certain third-party aircraft engine manufacturers and engine management companies poses risks to our owned and leased aircraft and operations.” Such an outbreak of COVID-19 or similar disease could result in significant downtime of our aircraft and result in material and adverse effects on our business, operating results, financial condition and liquidity.

In response to the sharp decline in private air travel during late spring and early summer 2020, we availed ourselves of governmental assistance under the CARES Act, see “ —We are subject to certain restrictions on our business as a result of our participation in governmental programs under the CARES Act” and implemented certain cost saving initiatives, including offering voluntary furloughs to our employees, implementing a mandatory reduction in all work schedules and delaying certain previously planned initiatives and internal investments. While COVID-19 has abated, there can be no assurance that these actions will be sufficient and that other similar measures might not be required during a resurgence of COVID-19.

The outbreak of another disease or similar public health threat, or fear of such an event, that affects travel demand, travel behavior or travel restrictions could adversely impact our business, financial condition and operating results. Outbreaks of other diseases could also result in increased government restrictions and regulation, such as those actions described above or otherwise, which could adversely affect our operations.

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We are subject to certain restrictions on our business as a result of our participation in governmental programs under the CARES Act.

flyExclusive applied for government assistance under the Payroll Support Program (“PSP”) maintained and administered by the U.S. Department of Treasury (“Treasury”) as directed by the CARES Act and was awarded a total of $16.34 million to support ongoing operations, all of which has been received and subsequently deployed. In addition, a subsidiary of the company, Sky Night, LLC (“Sky Night”) had separately applied for assistance under the PSP, and was awarded an aggregate of $0.74 million, all of which has been received and subsequently deployed. The PSP awards are governed by the terms and conditions of the CARES Act and three consecutive Payroll Support Program Agreements (“PSAs”) with the Treasury. Neither we, nor Sky Night, were required to issue equity or other form of security to the Treasury in connection with such awards.

While we believe that we are fully compliant with all requirements of the CARES Act and the PSAs, including the requirement to use the awards only for payment of certain employment costs (i.e. wages, salaries and benefits), if we were found to be not in compliance with such requirements, the Treasury has sole discretion to impose any remedy it deems appropriate, including requiring full repayment of the awards with appropriate interest. The imposition of any such remedy could have a material and adverse effect on our financial condition.

Between April 2020 and May 2021, each of LGM, flyExclusive and Sky Night also received loans (the “PPP Loans”) from two lenders under the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”). The PPP Loans are subject to the terms and conditions applicable to loans administered by the U.S. Small Business Administration (“SBA”) under the CARES Act, which is subject to revisions and changes by the SBA and Congress. The PPP Loans have all been forgiven by the SBA. We believe that we satisfied all eligibility criteria for the PPP Loan, and that each of LGM’s, flyExclusive’s and Sky Night’s receipt of the PPP Loan was consistent with the broad objectives of the PPP of the CARES Act. The SBA has up to six years after the date of forgiveness of a certain PPP Loan to pursue an audit of such loan. Given that flyExclusive received more than $2.0 million under its PPP Loans, it is likely that it will be subject to an SBA audit. If, despite our good-faith belief that each of LGM, flyExclusive and Sky Night satisfied all eligibility requirements for the PPP Loans, any of the PPP Loans are later determined to have violated any of the applicable laws or governmental regulations related to the PPP Loans or it is otherwise determined that LGM, flyExclusive and/or Sky Night was ineligible to receive the PPP Loans, we could be subject to civil, criminal and administrative penalties or adverse publicity. Any such events could consume significant financial and management resources and could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

The loss of key personnel upon whom we depend on to operate our business or the inability to attract additional qualified personnel could adversely affect our business.

We believe that our future success will depend in large part on our ability to retain or attract highly qualified management, technical and other personnel, particularly our founder and Chief Executive Officer, Segrave Jr., and our Interim Chief Financial Officer, Billy Barnard. We compete against commercial and private aviation operators, including the major U.S. airlines for pilots, mechanics and other skilled labor and some of the airlines may offer wage and benefit packages which exceed ours. As we grow our fleet and/or more pilots approach retirement age, we may be affected by a pilot shortage. See “— Pilot attrition may negatively affect our operations and financial condition.” We might not be successful in retaining key personnel or in attracting other highly qualified personnel. Any inability to retain or attract significant numbers of qualified management and other personnel would have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

The supply of pilots to the airline industry is limited and may negatively affect our operations and financial condition. Increases in our labor costs, which constitute a substantial portion of our total operating costs, may adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Our pilots are subject to stringent pilot qualification and crew member flight training standards (“FAA Qualification Standards”), which among other things require minimum flight time for pilots and mandate strict rules to minimize pilot fatigue. The existence of such requirements effectively limits the supply of qualified pilot candidates and increases pilot salaries and related labor costs. A shortage of pilots would require us to further increase our labor costs, which would result in a material reduction in our earnings. Such requirements also impact pilot scheduling, work hours and the number of pilots required to be employed for our operations.

In addition, we are in the process of transitioning the majority of our pilot-training in-house and our operations and financial condition may be negatively impacted if we are unable to train pilots in a timely manner. Due to an industry-wide

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shortage of qualified pilots, driven by the flight hours requirements under the FAA Qualification Standards and attrition resulting from the hiring needs of other industry participants, pilot training timelines have significantly increased and stressed the availability of flight simulators, instructors and related training equipment. Future changes to FAA regulations and requirements could also prohibit or materially restrict our ability to train pilots in-house. As a result of the foregoing, the training of our pilots might not be accomplished in a cost-efficient manner or in a manner timely enough to support our operational needs.

Due to the flexibility on the types of aircraft and routes we offer, we might not have access to a qualified pilot at the departure location for a particular flight. We rely on commercial airlines to fly our pilots to the departure location when our pilots come onto a work rotation or when there is a grounded aircraft or other maintenance event where there is a need for a pilot to switch planes. Any disruption to such commercial airline activity may cause us to delay or cancel a flight and could adversely affect our reputation, business, results of operation and financial condition. Aviation businesses are often affected by factors beyond their control including: air traffic congestion at airports; airport slot restrictions; air traffic control inefficiencies; increased and changing security measures; changing regulatory and governmental requirements; new or changing travel-related taxes; any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Pilot attrition may negatively affect our operations and financial condition.

In recent years, we have experienced significant volatility in our attrition, including volatility resulting from training delays, pilot wage and bonus increases at other industry participants and the growth of cargo, low-cost and ultra-low-cost airlines. In prior periods, these factors, at times, caused our pilot attrition rates to be higher than our ability to hire and retain replacement pilots. If our attrition rates are higher than our ability to hire and retain replacement pilots, our operations and financial results could be materially and adversely affected.

We may be subject to unionization, work stoppages, slowdowns or increased labor costs and the unionization of our pilots, maintenance workers and inflight crewmembers could result in increased labor costs.

Our business is labor intensive and while our employees, particularly our pilots and our maintenance workers, are not currently represented by labor unions, we may, in the future, experience union organizing activities of our pilots, maintenance workers or other crewmembers. Such union organization activities could lead to work slowdowns or stoppages, which could result in loss of business. In addition, union activity could result in demands that may increase our operating expenses and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and competitive position. Any of the different groups or classes of our crewmembers could unionize at any time, which would require us to negotiate in good faith with the crew member group’s certified representative concerning a collective bargaining agreement. In addition, we may be subject to disruptions by unions protesting the non-union status of our other crewmembers. Any of these events would be disruptive to our operations and could harm our business.

We may never realize the full value of our intangible assets or our long-lived assets, causing us to record impairments that may materially adversely affect our financial conditions and results of operations.

In accordance with applicable accounting standards, we are required to test our indefinite-lived intangible assets for impairment on an annual basis, or more frequently where there is an indication of impairment. In addition, we are required to test certain of our other assets for impairment where there is any indication that an asset may be impaired, such as our market capitalization being less than the book value of our equity.

We may be required to recognize losses in the future due to, among other factors, extreme fuel price volatility, tight credit markets, government regulatory changes, decline in the fair values of certain tangible or intangible assets, such as aircraft, unfavorable trends in historical or forecasted results of operations and cash flows and an uncertain economic environment, as well as other uncertainties.

We can provide no assurance that a material impairment loss of tangible or intangible assets will not occur in a future period. The value of our aircraft could also be impacted in future periods by changes in supply and demand for these aircraft. Such changes in supply and demand for certain aircraft types could result from the grounding of aircraft. See also “— The residual value of our aircraft may be less than estimated in our depreciation policies.”

An impairment loss could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and operating results.

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The residual value of our aircraft may be less than estimated in our depreciation policies.

As of December 31, 2023, we had $254.0 million of property and equipment and related assets, net of accumulated depreciation, of which $225.8 million relates to aircraft. In accounting for these long-lived assets, we make estimates about the expected useful lives of the assets, the expected residual values of certain of these assets, and the potential for impairment based on the fair value of the assets and the cash flows they generate. Factors indicating potential impairment include, but are not limited to, significant decreases in the market value of the long-lived assets, a significant change in the condition of the long-lived assets and operating cash flow losses associated with the use of the long-lived assets. In the event the estimated residual value of any of our aircraft types is determined to be lower than the residual value assumptions used in our depreciation policies, the applicable aircraft type in our fleet may be impaired and may result in a material reduction in the book value of applicable aircraft types we operate or we may need to prospectively modify our depreciation policies. An impairment on any of the aircraft types we operate or an increased level of depreciation expense resulting from a change to our depreciation policies could result in a material negative impact to our financial results.

Significant reliance on Textron and Gulfstream aircraft and spare parts poses risks to our business and prospects.

As part of our business strategy, we have historically flown primarily Textron Aviation (“Textron”) and Gulfstream Aerospace (“Gulfstream”) aircraft. A majority of the aircraft we currently operate are the product of those two manufacturers. We have negotiated preferred rates with Textron for line maintenance services, certain component repair services and to purchase and exchange parts. Parts and services from Gulfstream and Textron are subject to their product and workmanship warranties. If either Gulfstream or Textron fails to adequately fulfill its obligations towards us or experiences interruptions or disruptions in production or provision of services due to, for example, bankruptcy, natural disasters, labor strikes or disruption of its supply chain, we may experience a significant delay in the delivery of or fail to receive previously ordered aircraft and parts, which would adversely affect our revenue and results of operations and could jeopardize our ability to meet the demands of our program participants. Although we could choose to operate aircraft of other manufacturers or increase our reliance on third-party operators, such a change would involve substantial expense to us and could disrupt our business activities.

Significant reliance on certain third-party aircraft engine manufacturers and engine management companies poses risks to our owned and leased aircraft and operations.

As part of our business strategy, we have historically relied on Pratt & Whitney Canada, Corp. (“Pratt & Whitney”), Williams International (“Williams”) and Rolls-Royce plc (“Rolls-Royce”) aircraft engines to power substantially all of our owned and leased aircraft. If any of Pratt & Whitney, Williams or Rolls-Royce fail to adequately fulfill their obligations towards us or experience interruptions or disruptions in production or provision of services due to, for example, bankruptcy, natural disasters, labor strikes or disruption of its supply chain, we may experience a significant delay in the delivery of or fail to receive previously ordered aircraft engines and parts, which would adversely affect our revenue and profitability and could jeopardize our ability to meet the demands of our program participants.

We have entered into engine program agreements with various third-party providers, including Jet Support Services, Inc., Pratt & Whitney, Rolls-Royce, Textron and Williams, whom we rely on to provide engine related maintenance and services. If such third-party providers terminate their contracts with us, do not provide timely or consistently high-quality service or increase pricing to terms we do not believe to be reasonable, we might not be able to replace them in a cost-efficient manner or in a manner timely enough to support our operational needs, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We may incur substantial maintenance costs as part of our leased aircraft return obligations.

Our aircraft lease agreements may contain provisions that require us to return aircraft airframes and engines to the lessor in a specified condition or pay an amount to the lessor based on the actual return condition of the equipment. These lease return costs are recorded in the period in which they are incurred. Any unexpected increase in maintenance return costs may negatively impact our financial position and results of operations.

We are exposed to operational disruptions due to maintenance.

Our fleet requires regular maintenance work, which may cause operational disruption. Our inability to perform timely maintenance and repairs can result in our aircraft being underutilized which could have an adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations. On occasion, airframe manufacturers and/or regulatory authorities

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require mandatory or recommended modifications to be made across a particular fleet which may mean having to ground a particular type of aircraft. This may cause operational disruption to and impose significant costs on us. Furthermore, our operations in remote locations, where delivery of components and parts could take a significant period of time, could result in delays in our ability to maintain and repair our aircraft. We often rely on commercial airlines to deliver such components and parts. Any such delays may pose a risk to our business, financial condition and results of operations. See “— Aviation businesses are often affected by factors beyond their control including: air traffic congestion at airports; airport slot restrictions; air traffic control inefficiencies; increased and changing security measures; changing regulatory and governmental requirements; new or changing travel-related taxes; any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.” Moreover, as our aircraft base increases and our fleet ages, our maintenance costs could potentially increase. Additionally, certain parts may no longer be produced and adversely affect our ability to perform necessary repairs.

Our transition to in-house maintenance, repair and overhaul activities could prove unsuccessful or impact key relationships.

We entered the Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (“MRO”) business in the second quarter of 2021 with the opening of our electrostatic painting and coating facility. Subsequently, in the third quarter of 2021, we officially launched the MRO operation, offering a complete line of interior and exterior refurbishment services to third-party aircraft in addition to maintaining our own fleet. We began installing avionics in our mid-size fleet in the second quarter 2022. In October of 2022, we opened a new 48,000 square foot hangar dedicated to our growing MRO division. We plan to add additional facilities at our headquarters location in Kinston, North Carolina, and potentially other geographical locations in the future, to complement our growing MRO operations.

We may be unsuccessful in such MRO efforts, which could have an adverse effect on our future business and results of operations. Additionally, the successful execution of our MRO strategy could adversely affect our relationships with vendors historically providing MRO services to us, from whom we expect to continue to require maintenance and other services. In addition, performing such services in-house would internalize the risks and potential liability for the performance of such MRO services. If maintenance is not performed properly this may lead to significant damage to aircraft, loss of life, negative publicity and legal claims against us.

Significant increases in fuel costs could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Fuel is essential to the operation of our aircraft and to our ability to carry out our transport services. Fuel costs are a significant component of our operating expenses. A significant increase in fuel costs may negatively impact our revenue, operating expenses and results of operations. The majority of our contractual service obligations allow for rate adjustments to account for changes in fuel prices. Our jet club and guaranteed revenue (“GRP”) programs generally adjust incrementally on a sliding scale based on changes in jet fuel prices. Wholesale rates are non-contractual, so rates are adjusted on an ad hoc basis. Given our contractual ability to pass on increased fuel costs, in whole or in part, to certain of our customers and mitigate the risk with others, we do not maintain hedging arrangements for the price of fuel. However, increased fuel surcharges may affect our revenue and retention if a prolonged period of high fuel costs occurs. Additionally, participants in the most recent version of our jet club agreement introduced on June 20, 2023 are subject to fixed rates for the first 12 months of the program. A significant increase in fuel costs could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations in the interim until we are able to make such jet fuel rate adjustments.

In addition, potential increased environmental regulations that might require new fuel sources (e.g., sustainable aircraft fuel) could lead to increased costs. To the extent there is a significant increase in fuel costs that affects the amount our customers choose to fly with us, it may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our insurance may become too difficult or expensive to obtain. If we are unable to maintain sufficient insurance coverage, it may materially and adversely impact our results of operations and financial position.

Hazards are inherent in the aviation industry and may result in loss of life and property, potentially exposing us to substantial liability claims arising from the operation of aircraft. We carry insurance for aviation hull, aviation liability, premises, hangar keepers, product, war risk, general liability, workers compensation, and other insurance customary in the industry in which we operate. Insurance underwriters are required by various federal and state regulations to maintain minimum levels of reserves for known and expected claims. However, there can be no assurance that underwriters have

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established adequate reserves to fund existing and future claims. The number of accidents, as well as the number of insured losses within the aviation and aerospace industries, and the impact of general economic conditions on underwriters may result in increases in premiums above the rate of inflation. To the extent that our existing insurance carriers are unable or unwilling to provide us with sufficient insurance coverage, and if insurance coverage is not available from another source (for example, a government entity), our insurance costs may increase and may result in our being in breach of regulatory requirements or contractual arrangements requiring that specific insurance be maintained, which may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our self-insurance programs may expose us to significant and unexpected costs and losses.

Since April 1, 2022, we have maintained employee health insurance coverage on a self-insured basis. We do maintain stop loss coverage which sets a limit on our liability for both individual and aggregate claim costs. Prior to April 1, 2022, we maintained such coverage on a fully insured basis. We record a liability for our estimated cost of claims incurred and unpaid as of each balance sheet date. Our estimated liability is recorded on an undiscounted basis and includes a number of significant assumptions and factors, including historical trends, expected costs per claim, actuarial assumptions and current economic conditions. Our history of claims activity for all lines of coverage has been and will be closely monitored, and liabilities will be adjusted as warranted based on changing circumstances. It is possible, however, that our actual liabilities may exceed our estimates of loss. We may also experience an unexpectedly large number of claims that result in costs or liabilities in excess of our projections, and therefore we may be required to record additional expenses. For these and other reasons, our self-insurance reserves could prove to be inadequate, resulting in liabilities in excess of our available insurance and self-insurance. If a successful claim is made against us and is not covered by our insurance or exceeds our policy limits, our business may be negatively and materially impacted.

If our efforts to continue to build our strong brand identity and improve member satisfaction and loyalty are not successful, we might not be able to attract or retain customers, and our operating results may be adversely affected.

We must continue to build and maintain strong brand identity for our products and services, which have expanded over time. We believe that strong brand identity will continue to be important in attracting customers. If our efforts to promote and maintain our brand are not successful, our operating results and our ability to attract members and other customers may be adversely affected. From time to time, our members and other customers may express dissatisfaction with our products and service offerings, in part due to factors that could be outside of our control, such as the timing and availability of aircraft and service interruptions driven by prevailing political, regulatory or natural conditions. To the extent dissatisfaction with our products and services is widespread or not adequately addressed, our brand may be adversely impacted and our ability to attract and retain customers may be adversely affected. In connection with any expansion into additional markets, we will also need to establish our brand and to the extent we are not successful, our business in such new markets would be adversely impacted.

Any failure to offer high-quality customer support may harm our relationships with our customers and could adversely affect our reputation, brand, business, financial condition and results of operations.

Through our marketing, advertising, and communications with our customers, we set the tone for our brand as one based on a high-quality of customer service and we strive to create high levels of customer satisfaction through the experience provided by our team and representatives. The ease and reliability of our offerings, including our ability to provide high-quality customer support, helps us attract and retain customers. Customers depend on our services team to resolve any issues relating to our products and services, such as scheduling changes and other updates to trip details and assistance with certain billing matters. Our ability to provide effective and timely support is largely dependent on our ability to attract and retain skilled employees who can support our customers and are sufficiently knowledgeable about our product and services. As we continue to grow our business and improve our platform, we will face challenges related to providing quality support at an increased scale. Any failure to provide efficient customer support, or a market perception that we do not maintain high-quality support, could adversely affect our reputation, brand, business, financial condition and results of operations.

A delay or failure to identify and devise, invest in and implement certain important technology, business and other initiatives could have a material impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

In order to operate our business, achieve our goals, and remain competitive, we continuously seek to identify and devise, invest in, implement and pursue technology, business and other important initiatives, such as those relating to

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aircraft fleet structuring, MRO operations, business processes, information technology, initiatives seeking to ensure high quality service experience and others.

Our business and the aircraft we maintain and operate are characterized by changing technology, introductions and enhancements of models of aircraft and services and shifting customer demands, including technology preferences. Our future growth and financial performance will depend in part upon our ability to develop, market and integrate new services and to accommodate the latest technological advances and customer preferences. In addition, the introduction of new technologies or services that compete with our product and services could result in our revenues decreasing over time. If we are unable to upgrade our operations or fleet with the latest technological advances in a timely manner, or at all, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be negatively impacted.

We rely on third-party internet, mobile, and other products and services to deliver our mobile and web applications and flight management system offerings, and any disruption of, or interference with, our use of those services could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and customers.

Our customer-facing technology platform’s continuing and uninterrupted performance is critical to our success. That platform is dependent on the performance and reliability of internet, mobile and other infrastructure services that are not under our control. For example, we currently host our platform, including our mobile and web-based applications, and support our operations using a third-party provider of cloud infrastructure services. While we have engaged reputable vendors to provide these products or services, we do not have control over the operations of the facilities or systems used by our third-party providers. These facilities and systems may be vulnerable to damage or interruption from natural disasters, cybersecurity attacks, human error, terrorist attacks, power outages, pandemics and similar events or acts of misconduct. In addition, any changes in one of our third-party service provider’s service levels may adversely affect our ability to meet the requirements of our customers or needs of our employees.

We have experienced, and expect that in the future our systems will experience, interruptions, delays and outages in service and availability from time to time due to a variety of factors, including infrastructure changes, human or software errors, website hosting disruptions, capacity constraints or external factors beyond our control. While we are in the process of developing reasonable backup and disaster recovery plans, until such plans are finalized, we may be particularly vulnerable to such disruptions. Sustained or repeated system failures would reduce the attractiveness of our offerings and could disrupt our customers’, suppliers’, third-party vendors and aircraft providers’ businesses. It may become increasingly difficult to maintain and improve our performance, especially during peak usage times, as we expand our products and service offerings. Any negative publicity or user dissatisfaction arising from these disruptions could harm our reputation and brand, may adversely affect the usage of our offerings, and could harm our business, financial condition and results of operation.

We rely on third parties maintaining open marketplaces to distribute our mobile and web applications and to provide the software we use in certain of our products and offerings. If such third parties interfere with the distribution of our products or offerings, with our use of such software, or with the interoperability of our platform with such software, our business would be adversely affected.

Our platform’s mobile applications rely on third parties maintaining open marketplaces, including the Apple App Store and Google Play, which make applications available for download. There can be no assurance that the marketplaces through which we distribute our applications will maintain their current structures or that such marketplaces will not charge us fees to list our applications for download.

We rely upon certain third-party software and integrations with certain third-party applications, including Salesforce.com, Amazon and Microsoft and others, to provide our platform and products and service offerings. As our offerings expand and evolve, we may use additional third-party software or have an increasing number of integrations with other third-party applications, software, products and services. Third-party applications, software, products and services are constantly evolving, and we might not be able to maintain or modify our platform, including our mobile and web-based applications, to ensure its compatibility with third-party offerings following development changes. Moreover, some of our competitors or technology partners may take actions which disrupt the interoperability of our offerings with their own products or services, or exert strong business influence on our ability to operate our platform and provide our products and service offerings to customers.

In addition, if any of our third-party providers cease to provide access to the third-party software that we use, do not provide access to such software on terms that we believe to be attractive or reasonable, do not provide us with the most current version of such software, modify their products, standards or terms of use in a manner that degrades the

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functionality or performance of our platform or is otherwise unsatisfactory to us or gives preferential treatment to competitive products or services, we may be required to seek comparable software from other sources, which may be more expensive and/or inferior, or might not be available at all. Any of these events could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We may incur increased costs to comply with privacy and data protection laws, regulations, and industry standards and, to the extent we fail to comply, we could be subject to government enforcement actions, private claims and litigation, and adverse publicity.

As part of our day-to-day business operations and the services we provide, including through our website and mobile application, we receive, collect, store, process, transmit, share, and use various kinds of personal information pertaining to our employees, members and other travelers, aircraft owners and buyers, and business partners. A variety of federal, state, local, and foreign laws, regulations, and industry standards apply, or could in the future apply as our business grows and expands, to our processing of that information. The California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018, for example, requires covered companies that process personal information about California residents to make specific disclosures about their data collection, use, and sharing practices, and to allow consumers to opt out of certain types of data sharing with third parties, among other obligations. We are required to comply with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (“PCI DSS”), a set of technical and operating requirements issued by payment card brands designed to protect cardholder data because we accept debit and credit cards for payment.

These laws, regulations, and industry standards are continually evolving and are subject to potentially differing interpretations, including as to their scope and applicability to our business. The interpretation of these laws, regulations, and standards can be uncertain, and they may be applied inconsistently from one jurisdiction to another or may conflict with other rules or our practices. As a result, our practices might not have complied or might not comply in the future with all such laws, regulations, and industry standards.

Compliance with current and future privacy and data protection laws, regulations, and industry standards can be costly and time-consuming, and may necessitate changes to our business practices with respect to the collection, use, and disclosure of personal information, which may adversely affect our business and financial condition. Any failure, or perceived failure, by us to comply with these laws, regulations, and industry standards could have a materially adverse impact to our reputation and brand, and may result in government investigations and enforcement actions, as well as claims for damages and other forms of relief by affected individuals, business partners, and other third parties. Any such investigations, enforcement actions, or claims could require us to change our operations, incur substantial costs and expenses in an effort to comply, force us to incur significant expenses in defense of such proceedings, distract our management, increase our costs of doing business, result in a loss of customers and vendors, result in the imposition of monetary penalties, and otherwise adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

Any failure to maintain the security of personal or other confidential information that is stored in our information technology systems or by third parties on our behalf, whether as the result of cybersecurity breaches or otherwise, could damage our reputation, result in litigation or other legal actions against us, cause us to incur substantial additional costs, and materially adversely affect our business and operating results.

Our information technology systems, and those of our third-party service providers and business partners, contain personal financial and other sensitive information relating to our customers, employees, and other parties, as well as proprietary and other confidential information related to our business. Attacks against these systems, including but not limited to ransomware, malware, and phishing attacks, create a risk of data breaches and other cybersecurity incidents. Some of our systems and third-party service providers’ systems have experienced security incidents or breaches, and although those incidents did not have a material adverse effect on our operating results, there can be no assurance of a similar result in the future.

Any compromise of our information systems or of those of businesses with which we interact that results in personal information or other confidential information being accessed, obtained, damaged, disclosed, destroyed, modified, lost, or used by unauthorized persons could harm our reputation and expose us to regulatory actions, customer attrition, remediation expenses, and claims from customers, employees, and other persons. Moreover, a security compromise could require us to devote significant management resources to address the problems created by the issue and to expend significant additional resources to upgrade our security measures, and could result in a disruption of our operations. To the extent a cybersecurity breach or other data security incident affects payment card information that we maintain, or we otherwise fail to comply with PCI DSS, we could also be subject to costly fines or additional fees from the payment card

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brands whose cards we accept or could lose the ability to accept those payment cards, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

Privacy and data protection laws can also impose liability for security and privacy breaches that affect personal information we maintain. Among other obligations, breaches affecting personal information may trigger obligations under federal and state laws to notify affected individuals, government agencies, and the media. Such breaches could also subject us to fines, sanctions, and other legal liability and harm our reputation.

Our obligations in connection with our indebtedness and other contractual obligations could impair our liquidity and thereby harm our business, results of operations and financial condition.

We have significant long-term lease obligations primarily relating to our aircraft fleet. On December 31, 2023, we had 42 aircraft under operating leases, with an average remaining lease term of approximately 3.59 years. As of December 31, 2023, future minimum lease payments due under all long-term operating leases were approximately $86.0 million. Additionally, in connection with 26 aircraft leases, third parties have been granted a put option, which, if exercised, requires us to purchase the leased aircraft at the end of the lease term based on a predetermined exercise price. As of December 31, 2023, we were subject to up to $74.2 million in future aggregate contractual put obligations. Our ability to pay our contractual obligations will depend on our operating performance, cash flow and our ability to secure adequate financing, which will in turn depend on, among other things, the success of our current business strategy, U.S. and global economic conditions, the availability and cost of financing, as well as general economic and political conditions and other factors that are generally beyond our control.

Additionally, as of December 31, 2023, we had approximately $193.3 million in total long-term debt outstanding. The majority of our long-term debt was incurred in connection with the acquisition of aircraft. During the year ended December 31, 2023, our principal payments of long-term debt totaled $56.7 million. On January 26, 2024, we entered into a senior secured note that covers borrowings of an aggregate principal amount of up to approximately $25.8 million, up to $25.0 million of which is to finance the purchase or refinancing of aircraft relating to the Company’s fractional ownership program and borrowed the full $25.0 million at that time.

Although our cash flows from operations and our available capital, including the proceeds from financing transactions, have been sufficient to meet our obligations and commitments to date, our liquidity has been, and may in the future be, negatively affected by the risk factors discussed herein. If our liquidity is materially diminished, our cash flow available to fund working capital requirements, capital expenditures and business development efforts may be materially and adversely affected.

Our existing indebtedness, potential for a non-investment grade credit ratings and the availability of our assets as collateral for future loans or other indebtedness, which available collateral would be reduced under other future liquidity-raising transactions, may make it difficult for us to raise additional capital if we are required to meet our liquidity needs on acceptable terms, or at all.

We cannot be assured that our operations will generate sufficient cash flow to make any required payments, or that we will be able to obtain financing to make capital expenditures that we believe are necessary to fulfill our strategic directives. The amount of our fixed obligations could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Our ability to obtain financing or access capital markets may be limited.

There are a number of factors that may limit our ability to raise financing or access capital markets in the future, including future debt and future contractual obligations, our liquidity and credit status, our operating cash flows, the market conditions in the aviation industry, U.S. and global economic conditions, the general state of the capital markets and the financial position of the major providers of aircraft and other aviation industry financing. We cannot assure you that we will be able to source external financing for our capital needs, and if we are unable to source financing on acceptable terms, or unable to source financing at all, our business could be materially adversely affected. We could be forced to delay, reduce, suspend or cease our working capital requirements, capital expenditures and business development efforts, which would have a negative impact on our business, prospects, operating results and financial condition. To the extent we finance our activities with debt, we may become subject to financial and other covenants that may restrict our ability to pursue our business strategy or otherwise constrain our growth and operations.

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We face a concentration of credit risk.

We maintain our cash and cash equivalent balances at financial or other intermediary institutions. The combined account balances at each institution typically exceeds Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) insurance coverage of $250,000 per depositor, and, as a result, we face a concentration of credit risk related to amounts on deposit in excess of FDIC insurance coverage. As of December 31, 2023, substantially all of our cash and cash equivalent balances held at financial institutions exceeded FDIC insured limits. Any event that would cause a material portion of our cash and cash equivalents at financial institutions to be uninsured by the FDIC could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

Additionally, as of June 27, 2023, one customer, Wheels Up Partners, LLC (“WUP”) accounted for $15.7 million in receivables, which was a significant majority of total receivables at that time. When the agreement with WUP was terminated on June 30, 2023 the receivable balances were eliminated, as allowable under relevant accounting standards, by being applied against existing deposits held under the agreement.

Aviation businesses are often affected by factors beyond their control including: air traffic congestion at airports; airport slot restrictions; air traffic control inefficiencies; increased and changing security measures; changing regulatory and governmental requirements; new or changing travel-related taxes; any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Like other aviation companies, our business is affected by factors beyond our control, including air traffic congestion at airports, airport slot restrictions, air traffic control inefficiencies, increased and changing security measures, changing regulatory and governmental requirements, and/or new or changing travel-related taxes. Factors that cause flight delays frustrate passengers, increase operating costs and decrease revenues, which in turn could adversely affect profitability. Any general reduction in flight volumes could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. In the United States, the federal government singularly controls all U.S. airspace, and aviation operators are completely dependent on the FAA to operate that airspace in a safe, efficient and affordable manner. The expansion of our business into international markets will result in a greater degree of interaction with the regulatory authorities of the foreign countries in which we may operate. The air traffic control system, which is operated by the FAA, faces challenges in managing the growing demand for U.S. air travel. U.S. and foreign air-traffic controllers often rely on outdated technologies that routinely overwhelm the system and compel aviation operators to fly inefficient, indirect routes resulting in delays and increased operational cost. In addition, there are currently proposals before Congress that could potentially lead to the privatization of the U.S. air traffic control system, which could adversely affect our business. Further, implementation of the Next Generation Air Transport System by the FAA would result in changes to aircraft routings and flight paths that could lead to increased noise complaints and lawsuits, resulting in increased costs.

Extreme weather, natural disasters and other adverse events could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Adverse weather conditions and natural disasters, such as hurricanes, winter snowstorms or earthquakes, can cause flight cancellations or significant delays. Cancellations or delays due to adverse weather conditions or natural disasters, air traffic control problems or inefficiencies, breaches in security or other factors may affect us to a greater degree than our competitors who may be able to recover more quickly from these events, and therefore could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition to a greater degree than other air carriers. Any general reduction in passenger traffic could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

We are subject to risks associated with climate change, including the potential increased impacts of severe weather events on our operations and infrastructure.

Climate change-related regulatory activity and developments may adversely affect our business and financial results by requiring us to reduce our emissions, make capital investments to modernize certain aspects of our operations, purchase carbon offsets, or otherwise pay for our emissions. Such activity may also impact us indirectly by increasing our operating costs.

The potential physical effects of climate change, such as increased frequency and severity of storms, floods, fires, fog, mist, freezing conditions, sea-level rise and other climate-related events, could affect our operations, infrastructure, and financial results. Operational impacts, such as the delay or cancellation of flights, could result in loss of revenue. In addition, certain of our fixed base operators are in locations susceptible to the impacts of storm-related flooding and sea-

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level rise, which could result in costs and loss of revenue. We could incur significant costs to improve the climate resiliency of our infrastructure and otherwise prepare for, respond to, and mitigate such physical effects of climate change. We are not able to accurately predict the materiality of any potential losses or costs associated with the physical effects of climate change.

Our business is primarily focused on certain targeted geographic regions making us vulnerable to risks associated with having geographically concentrated operations.

While our customer base is located throughout the continental United States, approximately 70% of our flight demand is within two flight hours of our headquarters in Kinston, North Carolina. As a result, our business, financial condition and results of operations are susceptible to certain regional factors, including state regulations and severe weather conditions, catastrophic events or other disruptions.

The operation of aircraft is subject to various risks, and failure to maintain an acceptable safety record may have an adverse impact on our ability to obtain and retain customers.

The operation of aircraft is subject to various risks, including catastrophic disasters, crashes, mechanical failures and collisions, which may result in loss of life, personal injury and/or damage to property and equipment. We may experience accidents in the future. These risks could endanger the safety of our customers, our personnel, third parties, equipment, cargo and other property (both ours and that of third parties), as well as the environment. If any of these events were to occur, we could experience loss of revenue, termination of customer contracts, higher insurance rates, litigation, regulatory investigations and enforcement actions (including potential grounding of our fleet and suspension or revocation of our operating authorities) and damage to our reputation and customer relationships. In addition, to the extent an accident occurs with an aircraft we operate or charter, we could be held liable for resulting damages, which may involve claims from injured passengers and survivors of deceased passengers. There can be no assurance that the amount of our insurance coverage available in the event of such losses would be adequate to cover such losses, or that we would not be forced to bear substantial losses from such events, regardless of our insurance coverage. Moreover, any aircraft accident or incident, even if fully insured, and whether involving us or other private aircraft operators, could create a public perception that we are less safe or reliable than other private aircraft operators, which could cause our customers to lose confidence in us and switch to other private aircraft operators or other means of transportation. In addition, any aircraft accident or incident, whether involving us or other private aircraft operators, could also affect the public’s view of industry safety, which may reduce the amount of trust by our customers.

We incur considerable costs to maintain the quality of (i) our safety program, (ii) our training programs and (iii) our fleet of aircraft. We cannot guarantee that these costs will not increase. Likewise, we cannot guarantee that our efforts will provide an adequate level of safety or an acceptable safety record. If we are unable to maintain an acceptable safety record, we might not be able to retain existing customers or attract new customers, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Failure to comply with regulatory requirements related to the maintenance of our aircraft and associated operations may result in enforcement actions, including revocation or suspension of our operating authorities in the United States and potentially other countries.

Any damage to our reputation or brand image could adversely affect our business or financial results.

Maintaining a good reputation is critical to our business. Our reputation or brand image could be adversely impacted by, among other things, any failure to maintain high ethical, social and environmental sustainability practices for all of our operations and activities, our impact on the environment, any failure to provide consistent and high-quality customer service, public pressure from investors or policy groups to change our policies, customer perceptions of our advertising campaigns, sponsorship arrangements or marketing programs, customer perceptions of our use of social media, or customer perceptions of statements made by us, our employees and executives, agents or other third parties. In addition, we operate in a highly visible industry that has significant exposure on social media. Negative publicity, including as a result of misconduct by our customers, vendors or employees, can spread rapidly through social media. Should we not respond in a timely and appropriate manner to address negative publicity, our brand and reputation may be significantly harmed. Damage to our reputation or brand image or loss of customer confidence in our services could adversely affect our business and financial results as well as require additional resources to rebuild or repair our reputation.

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We could suffer losses and adverse publicity stemming from any accident involving our aircraft models operated by third parties.

Certain aircraft models that we operate have experienced accidents while operated by third parties. If other operators experience accidents with aircraft models that we operate, obligating us to take such aircraft out of service until the cause of the accident is determined and rectified, we might lose revenues and might lose customers. It is also possible that the FAA or other regulatory bodies in another country could ground the aircraft and restrict it from flying. In addition, safety issues experienced by a particular model of aircraft could result in customers refusing to use that particular aircraft model or a regulatory body grounding that particular aircraft model. The value of the aircraft model might also be permanently reduced in the secondary market if the model were to be considered less desirable for future service. Such accidents or safety issues related to aircraft models that we operate could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Terrorist activities or warnings have dramatically impacted the aviation industry and will likely continue to do so.

The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and their aftermath have negatively impacted the aviation business in general. If additional terrorist attacks are launched against the aviation industry, there will be lasting consequences of the attacks, which may include loss of life, property damage, increased security and insurance costs, increased concerns about future terrorist attacks, increased government regulation and airport delays due to heightened security. We cannot provide any assurance that these events will not harm the aviation industry generally or our operations or financial condition in particular.

We lease our corporate headquarters and operations facilities from third-party affiliates and a failure to renew such leases could adversely affect our business.

Certain subsidiaries of LGM Ventures, LLC (“LGMV”), which is owned by Segrave Jr., lease to us a substantial portion of our headquarters and maintenance and operations facilities. During the year ended December 31, 2023, rental payments under the leases related to LGMV were $1.6 million. While the majority of these leases have terms greater than 10 years we have no assurance that these related parties will renew the lease agreements after expiration or that any renewal offered to us will be on terms that we find acceptable. If we cannot renew the leases, we will be required to move a substantial portion of our headquarters and operations, which may adversely affect our reputation, financial condition and results of operation.

On June 30, 2023, we terminated our agreement with Wheels Up that accounted for a significant portion of our total revenues the past two years. Such termination could have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition if we fail to materially replace the revenue derived from Wheels Up moving forward as expected.

For the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, WUP accounted for 22% and 39% of total revenue, respectively. On June 30, 2023, we terminated our agreement with WUP. Subsequently, on July 5, 2023, WUP initiated a lawsuit against us, see the section entitled “Other Information About LGM — Legal Proceedings” for more information about such lawsuit.

Although the termination of the agreement with WUP was material to our total revenues for the year ended December 31, 2023, we had already expected the percentage of total revenue concentrated in WUP to continue to decrease over the next few years and had already planned to scale down business with WUP relative to our other revenue streams prior to terminating our agreement with WUP (see “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations of LGM — Key Factors Affecting Results of Operations — Wheel’s Up (“WUP”) Termination”). However, a failure to materially replace the revenue derived from WUP in the future may adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.

Additionally, as of June 27, 2023, WUP accounted for $15.7 million in receivables, which was a significant majority of total receivables at that time. When the agreement with WUP was terminated on June 30, 2023 the receivable balances were eliminated, as allowable under relevant accounting standards, by being applied against existing deposits held under the agreement.

It may ultimately be determined that we did not qualify for the Employee Retention Credit and we may be required to repay the ERC amounts received, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

As of December 31, 2023, LGM had applied for $9.5 million and received the Employee Retention Credit (“ERC”) in the total amount of $9.0 million. Our legal counsel has issued a legal opinion that we, more likely than not, qualified for

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the ERC. However, it remains uncertain whether we meet the qualifications required to receive the ERC. If we are ultimately required to repay the ERC it may materially adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.

Legal and Regulatory Risks Relating to Our Business

We are subject to significant governmental regulation and changes in government regulations imposing additional requirements and restrictions on our operations could increase our operating costs and result in service delays and disruptions.

All FAA certified air carriers, including us, are subject to regulation by the DOT, the FAA and other governmental agencies, including the DHS, the TSA, the CBP and others. The laws and regulations enforced by these and other agencies impose substantial costs on us, may reduce air travel demand, and also may restrict the manner in which we conduct our business now or in the future, resulting in a material adverse effect on our operations. The FAA recently issued a proposed rulemaking that, when finalized, would expand the requirement for a safety management system to all certificate holders operating under FAA Part 135, which will likely increase our regulatory compliance costs. We also incur substantial costs in maintaining our current certifications and otherwise complying with the laws to which we are subject. An adverse decision by a federal agency may have a material adverse effect on our operations, such as an FAA decision to ground, or require time consuming inspections of or maintenance on, all or any of our aircraft. Our business may also be affected if government agencies shut down for any reason or if there is significant automation or another operational disruption, such as those attributed to Air Traffic Control or weather.

In addition, as described under the caption entitled “—Foreign Ownership,” we are also subject to restrictions imposed by federal law on the maximum amount of foreign ownership of U.S. airlines and oversight by the DOT in maintaining our status as a “citizen of the United States” (as defined at 49 U.S.C. Section 40102(a)(15) and administrative interpretations thereof issued by the DOT or its predecessor or successors, or as the same may be from time to time amended). A failure to comply with or changes to these restrictions may materially adversely affect our business and force a divestiture of any foreign investment in excess of the applicable thresholds.

Foreign Ownership

Under DOT regulations and federal law, we must be owned and controlled by U.S. citizens. The restrictions imposed by federal law and regulations currently require that at least 75% of our voting stock must be owned and controlled, directly and indirectly, by persons or entities who are U.S. citizens, as defined in the Federal Aviation Act, that our president and at least two-thirds of the members of our Board of Directors and other managing officers be U.S. citizens, and that we be under the actual control of U.S. citizens. In addition, at least 51% of our total outstanding stock must be owned and controlled by U.S. citizens and no more than 49% of our stock may be held, directly or indirectly, by persons or entities who are not U.S. citizens and are from countries that have entered into “open skies” air transport agreements with the U.S. which allow unrestricted access between the United States and the applicable foreign country and to points beyond the foreign country on flights serving the foreign country. We are currently in compliance with these ownership provisions.

Revocation of permits, approvals, authorizations and licenses.

Our business also requires a variety of federal, state and local permits, approvals, authorizations and licenses. Our business depends on the maintenance of such permits, approvals, authorizations and licenses. Our business is subject to regulations and requirements and may be adversely affected if we are unable to comply with existing regulations or requirements or if changes in applicable regulations or requirements occur.

We are subject to various environmental and noise laws and regulations, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

We are subject to increasingly stringent federal, state, local and foreign laws, regulations and ordinances relating to the protection of the environment and noise, including those relating to emissions to the air, discharges (including storm water and de-icing fluid discharges) to surface and subsurface waters, safe drinking water and the use, management, disposal and release of, and exposure to, hazardous substances, oils and waste materials. We are or may be subject to new or proposed laws and regulations that may have a direct effect (or indirect effect through our third-party relationships or airport facilities at which we operate) on our operations. Any such existing, future, new or potential laws and regulations could have an adverse impact on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

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Similarly, we are subject to environmental laws and regulations that require us to investigate and remediate soil or groundwater to meet certain remediation standards. Under certain laws, generators of waste materials, and current and former owners or operators of facilities, can be subject to liability for investigation and remediation costs at locations that have been identified as requiring response actions. Liability under these laws may be strict, joint and several, meaning that we could be liable for the costs of cleaning up environmental contamination regardless of fault or the amount of wastes directly attributable to us.

Environmental regulation and liabilities, including new or developing laws and regulations, or our initiatives in response to pressure from our stakeholders may increase our costs of operations and adversely affect us.

In recent years, governments, customers, suppliers, employees and other of our stakeholders have increasingly focused on climate change, carbon emissions, and energy use. Laws and regulations that curb the use of conventional energy or require the use of renewable fuels or renewable sources of energy, such as wind or solar power, could result in a reduction in demand for hydrocarbon-based fuels such as oil and natural gas. In addition, governments could pass laws, regulations or taxes that increase the cost of such fuels, thereby decreasing demand for our services and also increasing the costs of our operations. Other laws or pressure from our stakeholders may adversely affect our business and financial results by requiring, or otherwise causing, us to reduce our emissions, make capital investments to modernize certain aspects of our operations, purchase carbon offsets or otherwise pay for our emissions. Such activity may also impact us indirectly by increasing our operating costs. More stringent environmental laws, regulations or enforcement policies, as well as motivation to maintain our reputation with our key stakeholders, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

The issuance of operating restrictions applicable to one of the fleet types we operate could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Our owned and leased fleet is comprised of a limited number of aircraft types, including the Citation CJ3 / CJ3+, Citation Excel / XLS / XLS+, Citation Encore+, Citation Sovereign, Citation X, Gulfstream GIV-SP aircraft. The issuance of FAA or manufacturer directives restricting or prohibiting the use of any one or more of the aircraft types we operate could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

We may become involved in litigation that may materially adversely affect us.

From time to time, we may become involved in various legal proceedings relating to matters incidental to the ordinary course of our business, including employment, commercial, product liability, class action, whistleblower and other litigation and claims, and governmental and other regulatory investigations and enforcement proceedings. Such matters can be time-consuming, divert management attention and resources, cause us to incur significant expenses or liability and/or require us to change our business practices. Because of the potential risks, expenses and uncertainties of litigation, we may, from time to time, settle disputes, even where we believe that we have meritorious claims or defenses. Because litigation is inherently unpredictable, the results of any of these actions may have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Risks Relating to Our Organization and Structure

Our only significant asset is our ownership interest in LGM and such ownership might not be sufficient to pay dividends or make distributions or loans to enable us to pay any dividends on our Common Stock or satisfy our other financial obligations.

We have no direct operations and no significant assets other than our ownership of LGM. We depend on LGM for distributions, loans and other payments to generate the funds necessary to meet our financial obligations, including our expenses as a publicly traded company and to pay any dividends with respect to our Class A Common Stock or any payments we are required to pay under the Tax Receivable Agreement, which is discussed in further detail in Item 13 - Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence. The financial condition and operating requirements of LGM may limit our ability to obtain cash from LGM. The earnings from, or other available assets of, LGM might not be sufficient to pay dividends or make distributions or loans to enable us to pay any dividends on the Common Stock or satisfy our other financial obligations.

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We are a “controlled company” within the meaning of the NYSE American listing standards and, as a result, qualify for, and intend to rely on, exemptions from certain corporate governance requirements. You will not have the same protections afforded to stockholders of companies that are subject to such requirements.

As of the date of this Report, the Existing Equityholders hold a majority of our Class B Common Stock and as a result, control a majority of the voting power of the Company. As a result of the Existing Equityholders’ holdings, we are a “controlled company” within the meaning of the corporate governance standards of the NYSE American. Under these rules, a listed company of which more than 50% of the voting power is held by an individual, group or another company is a “controlled company” and may elect not to comply with certain corporate governance requirements, including the requirement that (i) a majority of our Board consist of independent directors, (ii) we have a compensation committee that is composed entirely of independent directors and (iii) we have a nominating/corporate governance committee that is composed entirely of independent directors.

We rely on certain of these exemptions. As a result, we are not required to have a compensation committee consisting entirely of independent directors and we do not have a nominating/corporate governance committee that is composed entirely of independent directors. We may also rely on the other exemptions so long as we qualify as a “controlled company.” To the extent we rely on any of these exemptions, holders of Class A Common Stock will not have the same protections afforded to stockholders of companies that are subject to all of the corporate governance requirements of the NYSE American.

The multi-class structure of our Common Stock has the effect of concentrating voting power with our Chief Executive Officer, which will limit other stockholders’ ability to influence the outcomes of important transactions, including a change of control.

As of March 31, 2024, Segrave Jr. beneficially owned approximately 70.8% of our Class A Common Stock and 100% of our Class B Common Stock outstanding representing a combined voting power of approximately 70.8%, assuming that all LGM Common Unit, Public Warrants and Private Placement Warrants are exercised or exchanged for one share of our Class A Common Stock and that such shares are deemed issued and outstanding. Accordingly, Segrave Jr. is able to control or exert substantial influence over all matters submitted to our stockholders for approval, including the election of directors and amendments of our organization documents. Segrave Jr. may have interests that differ from those of the other stockholders and may vote in a way with which the other stockholders disagree and which may be adverse to their interests. This concentrated control may have the effect of delaying, preventing or deterring a change of control of the Company, could deprive our stockholders of an opportunity to receive a premium for their capital stock as part of a sale of the Company, and might ultimately affect the market price of shares of our Class A Common Stock.

We cannot predict the impact our multi-class structure may have on the stock price of our Class A Common Stock.

We cannot predict whether our multi-class structure will result in a lower or more volatile market price of our Class A Common Stock or in adverse publicity or other adverse consequences. For example, certain index providers have announced restrictions on including companies with multiple-class share structures in certain of their indices. In July 2017, FTSE Russell and S&P Dow Jones announced that they would cease to allow most newly public companies utilizing dual or multi-class capital structures to be included in their indices.

Affected indices include the Russell 2000 and the S&P 500, S&P MidCap 400 and S&P SmallCap 600, which together make up the S&P Composite 1500. Under the announced policies, our multi-class capital structure would make us ineligible for inclusion in certain indices, and as a result, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds and other investment vehicles that attempt to passively track those indices will not be investing in our stock. It is possible that these policies may depress valuations compared to those of other similar companies that are included in such indices. Because of our multi-class structure, we will likely be excluded from certain of these indices and we cannot assure you that other stock indices will not take similar actions. Given the sustained flow of investment funds into passive strategies that seek to track certain indices, exclusion from stock indices would likely preclude investment by many of these funds and could make shares of our Class A Common Stock less attractive to other investors. As a result, the market price of shares of our Class A Common Stock could be adversely affected.

We qualify as an “emerging growth company” within the meaning of the Securities Act, and if we take advantage of certain exemptions from disclosure requirements available to emerging growth companies, it could make our

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securities less attractive to investors and may make it more difficult to compare our performance to the performance of other public companies.

We qualify as an “emerging growth company” as defined in Section 2(a)(19) of the Securities Act, as modified by the JOBS Act. As such, we are eligible for and intend to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies for as long as we continue to be an emerging growth company, including, but not limited to, (i) not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the SOX, (ii) reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements and (iii) exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. As a result, our stockholders might not have access to certain information they may deem important. We will remain an emerging growth company until the earliest of (i) the last day of the fiscal year (a) following the fifth anniversary of the completion of our IPO, (b) in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.07 billion, or (c) in which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer, which means the market value of our common stock that is held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30th, and (ii) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt securities during the prior three year period. We cannot predict whether investors will find our securities less attractive because we will rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result of its reliance on these exemptions, the trading prices of our securities may be lower than they otherwise would be, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the trading prices of our securities may be more volatile.

The requirements of being a public company may strain our resources and divert management’s attention.

As a public company, we are subject to the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act, the SOX, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the listing requirements of the NYSE American and other applicable securities rules and regulations. Compliance with these rules and regulations increase our legal and financial compliance costs, make some activities more difficult, time-consuming or costly and increase demand on our systems and resources, particularly after we are no longer an “emerging growth company.” The SOX requires, among other things, that we maintain effective disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting. In order to maintain and, if required, improve our disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting to meet this standard, significant resources and management oversight may be required. As a result, management’s attention may be diverted from other business concerns, which could adversely affect our business and operating results. We may need to hire more employees in the future or engage outside consultants to comply with these requirements, which will increase our costs and expenses.

We identified material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting, and we may identify additional material weaknesses in the future that may cause us to fail to meet our reporting obligations or result in material misstatements of our financial statements. If we fail to remediate any material weaknesses or if we otherwise fail to establish and maintain effective control over financial reporting, our ability to accurately and timely report our financial results could be adversely affected.

Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with GAAP. Our management is likewise required, on a quarterly basis, to evaluate the effectiveness of our internal controls and to disclose any changes and material weaknesses identified through such evaluation in those internal controls. A material weakness is a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting, such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of our annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. Based upon management's evaluation, we concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was not effective as of December 31, 2023, due primarily to: a failure to design and maintain formal accounting policies, procedures and controls to achieve complete, accurate and timely financial accounting, reporting and disclosures, including controls over the preparation and review of account reconciliations and journal entries; a failure to maintain a sufficient complement of personnel possessing the appropriate technical accounting competency, training, and experience to address, review, and record financial reporting transactions under U.S. GAAP; a failure to design and maintain adequate segregation of duties consistent with control objectives for key information technology systems that support financial reporting processes; and a failure to design and maintain formal and effective controls over information technology general controls for IT systems that are relevant to the preparation of the financial statements.

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Our efforts to remediate these material weaknesses might not be effective or prevent any future material weaknesses or significant deficiency in our internal control over financial reporting. If our efforts are not successful or other material weaknesses or control deficiencies occur in the future, we may be unable to report our financial results accurately on a timely basis. In fact, we did not timely file a Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2023 or a Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023. We might not be able to file timely reports in the future, which could cause our reported financial results to be materially misstated and result in the loss of investor confidence and cause the market price of our securities to decline.

The Tax Receivable Agreement will require us to make cash payments to the Existing Equityholders in respect of certain tax benefits and such payments may be substantial. In certain cases, payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement may (i) exceed any actual tax benefits the Tax Group realizes or (ii) be accelerated.

At the closing of the Business Combination, we, LGM, the Existing Equityholders and the TRA Holder Representative entered into the Tax Receivable Agreement, dated as of December 27, 2023. Pursuant to the Tax Receivable Agreement, we will generally be required to pay the Existing Equityholders 85% of the amount of savings, if any, in U.S. federal, state, local, and foreign taxes that are based on, or measured with respect to, net income or profits, and any interest related thereto that the Tax Group (i.e., us and our applicable consolidated, unitary, or combined subsidiaries) realizes, or is deemed to realize, as a result of certain Tax Attributes, which include:

•tax basis adjustments resulting from the repurchase by LGM of LGM Common Units (including any such adjustments resulting from certain payments made by us under the Tax Receivable Agreement)in accordance with the terms of the Equity Purchase Agreement.

•tax basis adjustments resulting from taxable exchanges of LGM Common Units (including any such adjustments resulting from certain payments made by us under the Tax Receivable Agreement) acquired by us from an Existing Equityholder pursuant to the terms of the A&R Operating Agreement; and

•tax deductions in respect of portions of certain payments made under the Tax Receivable Agreement.

Payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement generally will be based on the tax reporting positions that we determine (with the amount of subject payments determined in consultation with an advisory firm and subject to the TRA Holder Representative’s review and consent), and the IRS or another taxing authority may challenge all or any part of a position taken with respect to Tax Attributes or the utilization thereof, as well as other tax positions that we take, and a court may sustain such a challenge. In the event that any Tax Attributes initially claimed or utilized by the Tax Group are disallowed, the Existing Equityholders will not be required to reimburse us for any excess payments that may previously have been made pursuant to the Tax Receivable Agreement, for example, due to adjustments resulting from examinations by taxing authorities. Rather, any excess payments made to such Existing Equityholder will be applied against and reduce any future cash payments otherwise required to be made by us to the applicable Existing Equityholders under the Tax Receivable Agreement, if any, after the determination of such excess. However, a challenge to any Tax Attributes initially claimed or utilized by the Tax Group might not arise for a number of years following the initial time of such payment and, even if challenged earlier, such excess cash payment may be greater than the amount of future cash payments that we might otherwise be required to make under the terms of the Tax Receivable Agreement. As a result, there might not be future cash payments against which such excess can be applied and we could be required to make payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement in excess of the Tax Group’s actual savings in respect of the Tax Attributes.